Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 20, 1994                   TAG: 9404200039
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B-5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

COWBOYS' VALUE HIGHEST OF ANY FRANCHISE

The Baltimore Orioles, purchased last summer for $173 million by a group headed by Peter Angelos, are worth just $129 million, eighth among the 28 teams, according to the magazine.

The highest-valued baseball team, according to the magazine, is the New York Yankees at $166 million, followed by the Toronto Blue Jays at $150 million and the New York Mets at $147 million.

In the NFL, the Cowboy's value increased $25 million, according to the magazine. The New York Giants have the second-highest value at $176 million, followed by the Philadelphia Eagles at $172 million, the San Francisco 49ers at $167 million and the Cleveland Browns at $165 million.

Movie producer Jeffrey Lurie on April 6 agreed to buy the Eagles for a reported $185 million, which would be the most paid for a franchise.

Michael Ozanian, Financial World's assistant managing editor, said values are increasing because of a "continuing consolidation of large media and entertainment companies."

"Sports teams are not being valued by their profit-and-loss statements, but on a combination of their software value for media programming and their value as a vehicle for marketing consumer products," Ozanian said.

Financial World said the 28 baseball teams combined for an operating profit of $168 million in 1993 and the 28 NFL teams combined for an operating loss of $11.2 million.